LABOUR & THE PUBLIC.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1893, 30 October 1913, Page 7

LABOUR & THE PUBLIC.

STRIKERS'.'TACTICS REVIEWED. POLL!OP THE PRESS, MENACE/OF THE FIREBRAND Current press opinions on tho strike and 011 tho growing menace of agitators and firebrands are as follow: — The, duty of tho Government and 1 of tho Wellington community is plain. It is tJio same duty as devolved on tho pernio of South Canterbury when a similar strike occurred at Timaru. Tho. trado of the port must bo- kept open by free labour if tho strikers, who havo not a, moral leg to stand 011, will not work it, and tho public must bo protected by tho Government from acts ■of violence, towards which an unhappy tendency already has been shown. Tho port of Wellington inust be kept open not only for tho sako of Wellington, but of the whole, Dominion, which will 1)0 adversely affected every day that it is closed. Tho Government, if necessary, must assist to keep it open, and it is fulfilling the first duty of all Governments by strengthening tho police forco in Wellington to prevent acts of lawlessness and disorder while the port is being worked by other labour.— Timaru "Herald." No Pliant Minister Now. It is tho duty of the Government to take all reasonable steps to' protect life and property and restore order, and it is a i'ortuuato circumstance that in Mr. Herdman and Mr. Cullen the public has a Minister of Justico and a Commissioner of Police with whom tho honouring of their trusts takes precedence over other considerations. a The strikers are 110 longer dealing with the pliant opportunists who, by truckling to the forces of disorder, did so much to stimulate! tho growth of tho lawless spirit- out of which the Federation of Labour grew up. Tlio people of Wellington may bo trusted to give tho slipport that is due from thein to tho authorities, for tlicy havo had a bitter experience of the evils of weakness in public men. ... In the meantime the strike leaders aro saying that tho abrogation of the agreement between tho union and tlio shipownors "will bo held as a club over tho head of -every worker in New Zealand," If this is tho only oxmisfi that'theso disturbers of the peace can find for counselling tlio men to stand firm —and there is 110 other exouso visible —it is ruled out of court by tho union's own _ action in breaking the agreement without any provocation ot all.—Chris tchurch "Press,"'.

Dupes of the Agltatoi*. In this countjy it is generally grantoil that Labour receives at least a. fair sliju'o [of what it produces],, and that c-xcept perhaps hi isolated instances tho conditions of work aro reasonable. \\ hy, then, should Labour deliberately set out to destroy the capital without which it'could not exist? - For that is what is being dotio at Wellington. 'Ilia New Zealand working man, _ left alone, would probably be quite _ willing to do a fair day's work for a fair day's l>ay, and to live on friendly terms with ills employer. But he has unfortunately permitted himself to bo led away by agitators from othor countries, and to bo mads* a tool in tho hands of schemers like tho promoters of the organisation !'known as >tho Industrial Workers df :! tlid' : World : , Who advocate the use of dinamito as an argument.—"Taranaki Herald."-.

Police and Revolution, The -suggestion that the po-lico are to bo used to suppress ths_ working c1a.66 15 an abominable fabrication, made with the solo object of inflaming the workers. It- is not tho working class that tiro police aro being called out to suppress. It is the body of senseless revolutionaries who aro apparently determined upon preventing there being a working class at all. It is to protect those who are willing to work .against, tho-ruthless destroyer of the homes of tho people. . . . The man who will not himself work, and will not permit his follow-men to work, must bo treated as an enemy to society, a foe to tho people themselves.. Wo look to the Government; wo look to employers of labour; wo look to honest, and conscientious employees themselves to stand firm in this crisis, and to put an end, once and for all, to tho system of ruthless exploitation that is being oarriod on by individuals who are endeavouring, for tlioir own sordid reasons, to bring this fair country into a condition of chaos and revolution! — '.'Wairarapa Age."

1 Violences That Fail. They (the strikers) have made it abundantly clo.ir that their reliance is upon force rather than reason, and that force is required to restrain them. It is absurd to' imagine that this handful of uaiionists can overawe a whole community. I*t has been tried on a much larger scale in London, in Dublin, in Brisbane, bat it has failed every time, and must fail, because the general public aro bound to conio forward to assist tho autliorities to protect tho gefieral interests when seriously threatened by a small, but lawless, Section of the community—AVairarapa "Daily News." Arrogance of leaders. These agitators must seem to earn their wages in one way or another and they find that the best way to demonstrate their usefulness (I) is to breed strife aiid strikes. And this pretty littlo .game for tho kid glove labourer, will go on until legislation makes llis existence an offcncc to the .public interest. Tho employers . . . have a. good casa, with t'lie public's moral ■support to back them up, therefore it is to be hoped that they will stand firm and teach the strikers a lesson which they will remember for somo timo to corao, The arrogance cf labour's leaders nowadays needs such a lessonWairarapa ''Standard,"

No Weakening! We hope there will bo no weakening on the part of tho employers, for that would bo fatal. The strikers liayo thrown down tha gauntlet, and tho battle might just as well bo fought to a finish now as later 015. The strikers are in the wrong, first in tearing up an agreement and striking without cause, and iu seeking to impose their will by brutal methods oil tho employers and general public. There is. of course, tho possibility of the trouble extending,'but that should not deter tho Wellington public from standing up courageously against mob violence and would-be wreckers of the law and, order in tho present crisis, and teaching the strikers a lesson that they are evidently badly in need of, and have bceu looking for for some time past.—Taramiki "Daily News."

Country Calls For Firmness. Tho wharf labourers of New Zealand have all classes amongst them. A very large number are foreigners and cast-offs from London and Liverpool, and other English ports, and from Australia. They are the class of 111011, who, urged on bv the whips of tho socialists who at present control them—tho Federation of Labour —and by tlioir initial unchecked success, will stop at nothing. Already they have defied authority. Tile- Federation leaders are openly advocating violence and strong measures. . . . The Government should first put into force -against the paid tire-l-»°ads of tho Federation of Labour,

that section of the law which makes it illegal for anyone to incite a Btriko. The country calls for firhmeu pud stern measui'es.—Manawatu ''Daily, Times." The i.W.W, Element. Commenting on certain references to " Sabotage" made by ono of the strike orators in Wellington, the Christclwrch "Evening News" goes on to. stato:— Candidly wo d<> not believe tliat the average Now Zealand worker is built on I.W.W. lines—ho is not a black-ga-rd nor a cowardly sneak, and the methods thus presented to his careful consideration do not, therefore, appeal to him. But wo could wish that the waterside workers had' shown their resentment at such ail appeal. As 'far as the report .shows, thoy listened like lambs to tlio organiser's jiernicious rube bish. In America ho might have ox< lrericnced different -treatment-. Thoy know all about tlio I.W.W. there, and last year, at San Diego, the citizens tarred and feathered some emissaries from that organisation, and drove then* out of tho town. Wo don't want that sort of thing repeated out here, but there are plenty of ways in which tire workers could liave shown effectively Uheir {dislike and disapproval of tlio ! tactics that were suggested to them. ■ Need for tho New Arbitration. Tlio trouble out of which the strike aroso was in its inception 01* an almost trivial character. It related to tho rates of payment pud tho terms of employment of a small number of! shipwrights. Tho dispute was of a kind that illustrates tho value of the provisions of Mr. Massoy's Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Bill for tho settlement of disputes in which unregistered unions are coneonied—the provisions that arc said to bo unworthy of serious consideration and that are being ridiculed by unionists who shut their eyes determinedly to tho proofs of the successful operation elsewhere under different circumstances of similar legislation. .If theso provisions had been law, tho shipwrights, who were not; a registered union, might have secured the settlement of their differences with tho employers through tlio intervention < of a Labour Disputes Committee under conditions that would have given full publicity to tho causes of the- trouble. As it was t'ljoy became incorporated with the Wellington.branch of tho Waterside Workers' Union, and consequently became subject to the terms of a voluntary agreement, operating from February' 1912, between that union and tho shipping companies, but not registered under tho Arbitration Act. As tho essence of this agreement was that "the work of tlio employers shali always proceed in the. customary manner, and shall not 011 any account what' over, bo impeded," one of it® clauses provided, means' for the adjustment of any differences' that Might" arise.— " Otago Daily Times.' 1 Day of the Hooligan. Tlio public aro not going to bo.broflv beaten by gangs of hooligans who think they can set tho law at deiiiinco. Public property has to bo safeguarded, and if tlio Police Force is not strong enough to toach tho syndicalists their placa there will be no wanting of volunteers to assist. Tho public have no sympathy with this' absurd Btriko, however much feeling there may bo for tho wives ami families of the misguided men. Tha whole trado of a port cannot bo para* ' lysed bc-caiiso men with a desiro for anarchy havo taken it into their foolish heads to attempt to .institute a reign of terror.—Dannevirko "Evening News*"

Tha "Rod" Paril. The strikers have entered 011 a campaign of violence and epithets, which is just the sort of campaign to estrange them from any sh-a.ro in public sympathy. They have evidently determined to forcibly prevent tho working of t-lio wha.rvos l>y tree labour, and free labourers, in isolated instances, 'liav-o been roughly handled. . , > Th e shadow of the lied Federation is ovor both of tha big industrial troubles which are now afflicting tho Dominion. The watereiders and. miners Will some day realise, by their sel-Minposcd tribulations, that tiie Red Federation is a dangerous guide, philosopher, and friend.—''Southland Times."

Stop the Terrorism. Fancy the irony of a union office? complimenting the strikers on their "exemplary" behaviour over the Wellington kick-up while they rush the wharf gates and force themselves into tho shefs 5n crowds, bail up free workers, and put tliem in terror of their lives! Tho light of the striker ends when he -refuses to work. He has 110 right to interfere with the right of others to earn a living. • To admittho right of interference 111 that way is to concede that unionism and unionists aro above all authority and all law. . . .It is pure childishness to play with in the Way we hare been doing. Parliament sltould pass legislation disfranchising all persons guilty of striking in an illegal and uncalled-for manner. It is the height of absurdity to attempt to carry on tho functions of a properly organised society if a few wilful spirits are to bo allowed to defy law, authority, and reason without incurring ail ado- . quato penalty. —"Grey River Argus/' Those Sinister Leaders. Tho time must and will come in NeW Zealand wlieh those unionists who can see further than their noses must recognise tho folly of allowing themselves to be led bv a tiimdfuTof notoriety-hunting so-called -leaders. No reasonable or right-thinking person desires to see tlm workers lose their independence or bo deprived of their just right to differ with their employers as to wages aiid Hours and conditions of .working generally. Put with tho deliberate breaking of'agreements, with any 'such reckless rushing into industrial warfare as isreported from Wellhtptmu no one who is not an anarchist and desires to see nil end to all tho ordinary canons winch gov-orn civilise! lii'o can pdssihlv sympathise.— "Marlborough Express.! Syndicalism and suffering. That ml faith :shontu" be kept with' employers or exnccted from employers, that the strike should"Tie used as ft dagger and 'that some va.guo purpose i.s to be served by disturbing industry m every possible way, has been wenched among men who are persitaded that thoy can suffer little seeing that employmont is plentiful.; It is to bo 110ticed that the skilled and organised trades are taking little if. apv part in . the disturbance, which is confined very., generally to the occupations where ntoli work together in hree numbers and where muscular strength is particularly 111 demand. The lamentable feature of the disturbances is tlmt tlie industrial uncertainty must, inevitably lead to a cessation of enterprise and a reduction of employment'. "When there is less work and less prosperity those wlwliavo lieen duped by "s-vmTinalism" mav .realise foo Into tho foilv o* its tactics.—' "New Zealand Herald."